Chauhan chosen over icons as he could devote more time: Govt

Many celebrated icons have busy schedules and not the same amount of time and another criterion was the willingness of the concerned person, said Rajyavardhan Rathore

In the light of media reports claiming that names of Amitabh Bachchan and Rajnikanth were among those suggested for the top post at FTII, MoS for I&B Rajyavardhan Rathore today said Gajendra Chauhan was chosen as government wanted someone who could devote time to the premier institute.

"The government wanted the Governing Council, including the chairman, to be people who could commit time for the development of the institute," the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting told reporters here.

Rathore's comments came as some media reports suggested that among the potential names suggested for the position of FTII chairman included icons like of Bachchan and Rajnikanth as well.

Students protest against the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as the chairman of the FTII governing council, in New Delhi. Photo: PTI

Reports earlier had mentioned that names of filmakers Gulzar, Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Shyam Benegal were also under the consideration of the I&B ministry.

Reacting to these reports, a senior ministry functionary who was not willing to speak on record said that if "people like Amitabh Bachchan or Rajnikanth would like to run FTII, there was no objection but those names were were shortlisted, which it was felt would have enough time to ensure that they can througly focus on the job," the source added.

Many celebrated icons have busy schedules and not the same amount of time, the source said adding that another criterion was the willingness of the concerned person to take up the job.

Some prominent names were also not keen, sources said. Some eminent film personalities, were willing to contribute with Chauhan at the helm, they added.

Strongly denying any difference between I&B minister Arun Jaitley and MoS Rathore on the matter, the source said that if was felt that while Chauhan may not be the tallest of all names suggested, but he certainly met all the requirements, including willingness to give time generously.